Manual of Style
The purpose of the Beyond the Western Deep Wikia is to serve as an encyclopedic resource for worldwide fans of the comic. Because the comic is aimed at readers of all ages, the wikia must be kept clean. Only content relevant to what appears in the comic is allowed in the chatroom and the discussion pages, and swearing should be kept to a minimum. Due to Federal Law, one must be thirteen years of age to register an account and contribute to the community. Furthermore, Beyond the Western Deep has a worldwide fanbase. As such, the language should be kept clear and simple to make it easier for non-native English speakers. Conduct All users are expected to treat each other with respect, even if there are disagreements. Vandalism/Spam Any spam related to pornography or advertising will lead to an immediate life-long ban, registered user or not. Anons or registered users vandalizing the wiki will be given one warning, then banned for life. Canon/Copyright Everything in the comic is canon. Anything stated by Alex Kain, Rachel Bennett or Jerome Jacinto is considered canon, even if not addressed in comic. The print version of the comic is the final revision, and overrules wording and images from the online comic. Primary canon is the comic itself, then any serious world building or information in the commentary underneath the page, and then anything on their personal blogs- ie, tumblr/twitter. Beyond the Western Deep and all derivative works, including Song of the Eastern Sands, and all the images on the wiki, unless otherwise stated, are copyrighted Alex Kain and Rachel Bennett or Jerome Jacinto. Article Guidelines Keep the writing professional and avoid slang or emoticons. Use the Edit Summary tool- something short like "added content from chapter 2" will do. The "minor edit" button is used only when typos and formatting are corrected and the content of the page does not change. Rewording is always a major edit as it affects the meaning of the article. Reliability Avoid referencing the real world or drawing real-world parallels on in-universe article pages. The page quote may be drawn from comments or page commentaries done by the creators, and the trivia section can be used to hold confirmed development information. This is to keep the wiki page on topic, to keep it concise, and to avoid unwarranted speculation. “Dunia” has canonically referred to both the landmass and the world overall so to avoid confusion on the wiki, Dunia only refers to the world, and the continent is called the Four Kingdoms. Because the canon explores events from multiple viewpoints, when pulling subjective information from an in-comic source, mention the source in the statement, ie Kenosh's statement that Clovis and Tosch are ruthless. Example: According to Captain Kenosh, the Canid generals are ruthless. If the information comes from a writer or artist, such as when Alex says in his commentary that Clovis is ruthless or from the cast page, then there's no need to specify who said it. Example: Clovis is ruthless. Linking If another article is mentioned more than once on a certain page- ie, Caldus is mentioned numerous times on the Quinlan page- there should only be one link to Caldus' page on Quinlan's page. This is because it allows to accurately keep track of the most commonly used pages on the wiki. Character articles are to only have a character's name as the title- such as "Quinlan". If they have a military rank or other title, ie "Captain Quinlan", create a redirect page. To create a redirect, create a new page with the title (Captain Quinlan), then in the body of the article type #REDIRECT Quinlan. Citation This wiki is intended to be a reliable resource for the fans of the comic. As such, citation is vital to the purpose of the wiki. Everything stated on an article must be cited from a canon source. Fanon and speculation will be deleted. To list your citations at the bottom of a page, click 'Insert' Heading, then select 'References List'. Choose 'Insert'. This will list all the citations at the bottom. To add a reference, put the cursor at the end of the sentence you wish to citate, select 'Reference' and type in the source. In Source Mode, to insert a reference list, scroll to the bottom of the page and type References Then to add a citation after a sentence: Beyond the Western Deep To note a reference to the comic: "Comic Name: Chapter Number, Page #" and link the relevant page. Beyond the Western Deep: Chapter One, Page 1 If there is no chapter, simply quote the name and the page. Song of the Eastern Sands, Page 7 To reference commentary that accompanies the page, usually where most of the worldbuilding information is found, type "Chapter Number, Page #- Username's Commentary" and link the page. Beyond the Western Deep: Chapter One, Page 1- Alex's Commentary To reference a comment from the discussion section, type "Chapter One, Page 19- Username's Comment, timestamp." Cut and paste the actual timestamp from the comment. It is directly underneath the username. Then link to the comment directly. To obtain the URL of the comment, click the hashtag under the user's name next to the timestamp. Beyond the Western Deep: Chapter One, Page 1- Rachel's Comment on January 01, 2012 at 0:00 am For the cast page, specify the page then the character. Cast Page- Quinlan Spoilers Material from the most recent page may not be posted until twenty-four hours after posting, to allow for timezone differences around the world. Image Policy Unless stated otherwise, every image on this wiki is the intellectual property of Alex Kain and Rachel Bennett or Jerome Jacinto. These images are used with their express permission, with the caveat that nothing may be scanned from the books. However, anything posted online by them is fair game to upload. Image Content The purpose of uploading images is to illustrate wiki articles. Any images that cannot fulfill this purpose (ie- entire comic pages) will be deleted, with the exception of fan art (see below). Only images that come from an official source will be allowed on wiki articles. Any images that have been scanned from one of the books will be deleted immediately. Fanart is allowed, however the image can only be uploaded by the owner. It may not be used on wikia pages or image galleries, but is reserved for user pages or signatures only. Uploading Images Use to upload your image. Before you do so, please check the five image categories to ensure that your image or one very similar to it has not already been hosted. Appropriate images are files that focus on a single subject, such as concept art for a specific character or a close up of Hardin's dagger, or that illustrate significant events. Absolutely no pornography is allowed on this or any of wikia's properties. Uploading pornography, registered user or not, is cause for an immediate lifelong ban. Naming Images should be named accordingly with underscores in place of spaces- such as Janik_Concept_Art or Hardin_Dagger_Detail. Summary In the summary, please list the content and source of the image in question and credit the artist. For instance, an image of Janik's concept art would likely be pulled from the commentary on Chapter One, Page 3. Thus, an appropriate image summary would read something like "Janik concept art from the commentary on Chapter One, Page 3 by Rachel Bennett." A link to the source should also be included. Licensing Most importantly, the appropriate licensing should be chosen. Most images on this wiki will be cropped from the concept art or source material; as such the proper licensing option is "This file is copyrighted, but use is permitted by the copyright holder." Category:Policy